A topic from AEG's L5R CCG Rules forum, copied for Oracle of the Void from a copy of the forum saved in October 2015, so pages it didn't save are missing. Players' names are left out; the rules officials are named. Rulings are as they stood on these dates; later rulings, the rulebooks and the Rules Archive may differ.
A player, 2 June 2009
Hida Manoru reads: Recon Open: Target a province. Your Crab Clan Personalities have +1F, and Shadowlands Personalities have -1F, while at that province's battlefield.
I assign Manoru to the province he targeted. My opponent plays a force reduction, for this example, we'll use A False Accusation, which reads: Battle: Target a Personality with the lowest Personal Honor at this battlefield (you choose if there is a tie). Reduce his Force to 0.
Maoru's force is reduced from 5 (his 4 base, plus 1 from his recon action) to 0.
I move him home (eg. Stay Your Blade), then move him back (eg. Doomed Intentions).
What force is Manoru now? Does his recon action, which is an ongoing effect at the battlefield (or static, or continuous, I don't know the right term to be honest), then give my 0 force Manoru +1 force while he remains there, or does he stay on 0 force?
Dan Jacobson (rules official), 2 June 2009
Hida Manoru reads: Recon Open: Target a province. Your Crab Clan Personalities have +1F, and Shadowlands Personalities have -1F, while at that province's battlefield.
I assign Manoru to the province he targeted. My opponent plays a force reduction, for this example, we'll use A False Accusation, which reads: Battle: Target a Personality with the lowest Personal Honor at this battlefield (you choose if there is a tie). Reduce his Force to 0.
Maoru's force is reduced from 5 (his 4 base, plus 1 from his recon action) to 0.
I move him home (eg. Stay Your Blade), then move him back (eg. Doomed Intentions).
What force is Manoru now? Does his recon action, which is an ongoing effect at the battlefield (or static, or continuous, I don't know the right term to be honest), then give my 0 force Manoru +1 force while he remains there, or does he stay on 0 force?
In this case a False Accusation would give Manoru a -5F penalty, to reduce him to 0.
Coming back to the battlefield (and regaining the +1F bonus from his Open action) would still put him at 0F. (4F - 5F +1F=0F)